Dress: Maje (annoyingly in the sale here) | Shoes: Sam Edelman (in the sale here) | Bag: Chloe (here) | Sunnies: Louis Vuitton (here).
We visited Atlantic City almost by accident and completely last minute so we had little idea of what to expect on arrival. We drove from Rhode Island and the journey was mostly spent frantically googling the best things to do and see but there really wasn’t a lot to go on so I thought I’d put together a list of my favourite things about Atlantic City should you find yourself there in search of fun (and a little luxury). Is it like Vegas? Will you hit the jackpot? Is there a decent spa? Join me as I answer all of these questions and more.
Shop at Caesars
Booking a hotel last minute in Atlantic City isn’t easy as they are all very different. We stayed at Caesars as it is right in the middle of the action on the boardwalk but if I was to visit again I would choose one of the more luxurious hotels like the Borgata even though they are located 10 minutes away in a taxi. Caesars is what I would call middle of the road, not overly tacky but not overly glamorous either but it does have a few advantages (a Gordon Ramsay authentic British pub, a cool rooftop pool and a fairly fabulous room service menu) over the other hotels. It also has The Pier Shops where you will find everything from Burberry to Victoria Secret so if you are feeling spendy, this is one spot not to miss.
Drink and Dine at Borgata
We stayed at Caesars hotel but chose to dine at The Borgata hotel on two out of three nights of our stay and it was a superb decision. We celebrated my birthday with a spot of fine dining at Fornaletto, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. The food was phenomenal as were the peach cosmopolitans. We continued our celebrations at Gypsy Bar and if you find yourself there I highly recommend the Gypsy Mojito. There is live music every night here and this was our favourite bar to frequent. We returned the following night to try out the Old Homestead Steak House where we were met with steaks the size of your head and chocolate cakes the size of your house (aptly named the big fat chocolate cake).
Spa at Hurrahs
Atlantic City may be all about gambling and hedonistic activities but there’s always time for a bit of relaxation and there is no better place to do it that at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in Harrahs. A massage will set you back $125 but they are truly worth every penny especially if you drove through hurricane style weather to get there like I did.
Amuse Yourself on the Boardwalk
You can’t visit Atlantic City without visiting the amusements. Yes, they’re tacky but totally worth the walk. Atlantic City is home to America’s oldest boardwalk which is pretty cool and it has classic rides as well as more modern ones and you can finish off the experience with a pizza slice. We spent our last morning here before driving back to NYC. Make sure you pop into Ballys beach bar for a Daiquiri!
So now that I’ve detailed what to do in Atlantic City, here are a few things not to do:
- Wear a maxi dress while on the escalator: Yep, you guessed it, my maxi dress got sucked into the escalator at Caesars and I only just managed to tear it out of the mechanics in time. Very stressful when you have only just opened your eyes and your hands are full with breakfast items, phones and blueberry muffins.
- Pretend you know how to gamble: I won $50 on my first go at Roulette which gave me and my other half the idea to try blackjack. It is not easy and yes you will probably lose all of your money (unless you actually can play/know any of the rules).
- Get Your Fortune Told on the Boardwalk: If you follow me on Snapchat you may have seen the awkward moment I gave a machine a dollar to tell my fortune and instead of receiving a little note with a fortune on like I expected, my fortune was read aloud at lenght to me and the rest of the people on the boardwalk. AWKWARD. *ten points if you do this anyway and stick it out until the end even when your other half has walked away mortified.
Have you been to Atlantic City? Is it on your bucket list?
